Kids
by rinsaya
Summary: But we're just kids and we're just growing up. Kainora Modern AU.
1. At Six

He was six, a big kid in the little kid class.

Jinora remembered her first day of kindergarten. Mommy had dropped her off, and annoying Ikki was wailing and making a scene because Jinora was leaving and there was a long argument of _I wanna go to school with Jin-Jin too!_ and _No, you're too young, Ikki_, and _But why not?_ and the other parents casting glances at the three.

Jinora gave her mother and Ikki one final hug and reassurance that _Yes I'll be a good girl_ and _Okay I'll tell you about my first day when I come home._ Her mother had guaranteed a batch of fresh egg tarts once she got home, which she was looking forward to. Mrs. Zhao directed Jinora at her desk, where she took out the brand new school supplies she had in her orange backpack excitedly.

Jinora turned when she heard screaming a few desks over. "You're stupid!" a little boy shouted. Jinora widened her eyes-stupid was a forbidden word that she'd never be allowed to say, never ever, cross her heart. A larger boy, who was bigger and taller than everybody in class, looked like he was about to crumble and start crying.

And Jinora hated seeing people cry.

"You're yucky and ugly and stupid! And that's all you'll ever be!" he screeched, and Jinora heard the other boy stifle a sob.

She was outraged. She stomped up to the little boy, then grabbed his collar. Screw this good girl thing she promised her mother five minutes ago. "Stop being such a meanie butt!" she shouted. "You're being horrible and can't you see he doesn't like this? So stop it!"

The little boy pushed Jinora away and rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go play with my Transformers. Bye," he spluttered, then ran off.

Jinora looked up at the bigger boy. "A-are you okay?" she asked, trying to see his face.

He turned away, arms crossed. She heard him sniffle. "Go away."

"Do you need a hug?" Jinora offered. "Where are your friends?"

"Go away. I don't have friends."

Jinora wrapped her arms around him. "I'll be your friend. I'll be your best friend," she said. "I promise."

Startled, he hesitated before hugging her back. "Thanks," he sniffled. "For making him go away. You're really cool," he smiled, pulling away from their hug. "I'm Kai."

"I'm Jinora."


	2. At Nine

Kai always had a knack for trouble.

They were in fourth grade, and Kai really, really didn't like Mr. Lee. They were sitting in Jinora's treehouse, Kai animatedly plotting Mr. Lee's downfall.

"Kai, you really shouldn't be doing this to Mr. Lee," Jinora chided, fixing her thick-rimmed glasses while concentrating on her book.

"I swear, Mr. Lee's giving me bad grades just because he hates me. Like that math test!" Kai exclaimed.

Jinora rolled her eyes. "Kai, like half your answers were wrong. That's why you got a bad grade."

Kai ignored her, continuing, "And he's always shooting me dirty looks, like I've done something wrong!"

"Because you usually have."

"And he always pairs me up with the worst people for projects! Like, yuck, who wants to work with Yao? Ever? He smells like bologna!"

Jinora put her book down. "Yao's not that bad."

"You're just too nice," he argued.

Jinora ignored his point. "Mr. Lee doesn't hate you."

"I don't believe you one bit." Kai grinned mischievously. "So that's why we're gonna go through with the prank."

"Kai, you could be expelled," warned Jinora.

"I'll blame it on Yao."

"_Kai_," Jinora scolded. "You're spending your allowance on three jars of peanut butter just because of a teacher?"

"Yep. The window will be open, and then the squirrels will come in and attack, and it'll be amazing!"

Jinora sighed. "Why do you have to do that? That's horrible!"

"Jinora, you can scold me as much as you want, but I'm doing this," Kai decided.

"Jinora! Kai!" Jinora heard her babysitter, Korra, shout from below. "I'm ordering pizza for lunch! A cheese for you guys and a pepperoni for me and Kai! Is that okay?"

"Yeah!" Jinora yelled back. "Don't forget the garlic bread!"

"Okay!"

"How could you be vegetarian?" Kai asked in disbelief. "Don't you ever miss the taste of meat?"

"Never had it. How could I miss what I never had?"

"Meat is _amazing_."

Jinora cringed at the thought of meat. Her family was strictly vegetarian, and the pinkish substance known as _meat_ always disgusted her. How could people eat that stuff?

"Back to overthrowing Mr. Lee," Kai said.

Jinora laughed. "_Overthrowing_?"

Kai shrugged, flustered.

"Well, you don't have to waste money on it," she suggested. "Like, that stupid classic chair prank or something."

"You shouldn't be giving me ideas, Jinora," Kai chuckled.

"Why do you have to be a 'bad boy', anyway?" Jinora asked, laying down on the wood floorboards and making air quotes with her fingers.

Kai shrugged. "Girls dig a bad boy," he said, trying on a smoldering grin that made Jinora laugh.

"You're ridiculous, Kai."

"Guys! Lunch!" Jinora heard Ikki below from below them. "Come on down, lovebirds! You can't cuddle in the treehouse all day long!" she teased.

Jinora sat up, scowling. "I hate her so much."

Kai only laughed. "Come on, Jinora. The pizza's getting cold."

The next day at school, Kai had a mischievous grin plastered on his face. They were all in their desks, heads down over their notebooks, doing the morning writing warm-up on the board while Mr. Lee was still at a meeting. Ms. Qin, the teacher assistant, was typing away on her laptop, glancing up every once in a while to make sure the children weren't misbehaving.

Jinora pulled out an index card from her binder. She scribbled something down on it before handing it to Kai, who was diagonal in front of her.

He took the card, then read it:

**Did you buy the peanut butter?**

Kai looked down at it for a moment, then scribbled something else down before passing it back to Jinora.

**No. You'll see what'll happen. This will be AMZING.**

Jinora jotted down her response to Kai.

**AMAZING** **you spelled it wrong**

Kai rolled his eyes.

**I've never been good at speling.**

Jinora grinned.

**spelling** she corrected.

**I can't wait to see what's gonna happen, but I don't want you to get suspended or worse, expelled.**

Jinora handed the note to Kai, who then wrote,

**Don't worry about me. This'll be ****legedry** **awsum** **realy cool.**

Jinora read the note in amusement, and before scribbling something else down, the door swung open. A balding man in his mid-40s entered the room with a coffee in one hand, computer in the other.

Kai turned to Jinora and winked at her before turning back to the front.

"Good morning, kids," he said, putting down his laptop and coffee. "Sorry I'm late. The staff meeting went a little longer than I expected. I think you all behaved?" he asked, turning to Ms. Qin.

She nodded. "Everybody was good. I'm really proud. I think they really liked this morning's writing warm-up."

Mr. Lee smiled. "Good, I can't wait to hear what you wrote," he said, taking a seat in his chair, when _CRASH!_

The class erupted in laughter, seeing their teacher sprawled on the ground, his office chair in two pieces next to him. Kai turned to Jinora, holding up a screwdriver. Jinora managed a giggle, smiling at her best friend.

Mr. Lee rose, fuming. "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MY CHAIR?" he boomed, and the class was immediately silent. Jinora watched him shout, fearful for her friend's fate. "If you're responsible for doing this to my chair and delaying our class, please stand up right now."

Of course, Kai didn't stand. He stared down at his desk, cool under fire. Jinora watched anxiously as Mr. Lee surveyed the class with his hawk-like eyes. "Kai?"

Wow, he was good.

"Yes, Mr. Lee?"

"Are you responsible for my chair?"

Jinora held her breath. Kai was a master liar, a criminal mastermind, he'd blame it on Tu or Yao, he'd illude his innocence-

"It was Jinora's idea!" he peeped, and she turned bright red.

_I'm in so much trouble._

"You WHAT?"

Jinora stared down at her feet while her father shouted at her for what _Kai_ had done. She cast a dirty glance at her two siblings, who giggled in the corner while watching Jinora get the lecture of her life.

"Do you realise what this _means_? Your mother and I have worked so hard to bring you up as a good child, and you go on and do this to poor Mr. Lee with that friend of your's? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in, young missy?" he fumed, face red. "I got the call at noon, in the middle of a _huge_ meeting, and Korra had to leave class just to pick you up!"

Jinora sighed, tears brimming her eyes. This was against everything her parents brought her up with, and she felt overloaded with guilt.

"Your mother is extremely furious as well. You've been extremely bad, and this will not go unpunished!" he said, face red, speaking with his hands. Jinora was terrified that her father would hit her, even though she knew he wouldn't lay a hand on her.

"You're GROUNDED!" bellowed his father.

Jinora looked up. "W-what?" This was the first time she'd been grounded.

"You heard me! No more television or computer time for a week!"

Jinora pursed her lips. "Um, Dad, you know I don't use the computer that much. And we don't own a TV."

Tenzin furrowed his brow. "You're right, I got that from a parenting book. I guess that's not a good punishment," he muttered thoughtfully. He then returned to his bellowy fuming, his face lighting up with an idea. "No more books for a week!"

Jinora nodded, knowing that this was coming. _No more books_. She sighed, wondering how she'd get over her boredom over the next week.

"And you can't see Kai for the rest of your life, young lady!" he shouted.

Jinora widened her eyes. "What?" She was utterly flabbergasted.

He nodded. "You heard me! That boy is nothing but trouble, and the more you affiliate with him, the more you'll get in trouble. My decision is final. Now go to your room!" he finished.

Jinora felt like crying, tears welling in her eyes, sitting limp in at the dinner table.

"J-Jinora?" Ikki stammered, approaching her sister out of the shadows, frowning in concern.

Jinora ran off, up the stairs and down the hall and- _Oomph!_

"Jinora!" her mother exclaimed in surprise, catching her daughter by her shoulders. "Watch your-are you okay, honey?"

Jinora's glasses fogged up, and she drew in sharp breaths. Her mother drew Jinora in for a hug. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

It took her a few minutes, but her breaths evened out, her hyperventilation turning into steady inhales. "D-Daddy," she sniffled. "Daddy said I can't talk to Kai anymore."

"Well," Pema drew back to meet her daughter's matching grey eyes. "Daddy's being stupid. Don't worry. I'll talk to him." She pecked her daughter on the forehead.

Jinora nodded, sniffling.

"Go wash up, then we'll have a yummy dinner, alright?"

Jinora nodded again, then fled from her mother.

She'd make everything okay.


	3. At Eleven

**A/N: Sorry for the really, really long delay! My laptop crashed and it's been a hectic month. I think I'll have the next chapter posted by the next week. Thanks to all my readers and your patience :)**

* * *

"We should try out for track and field," Kai suggested one day.

It was the second week of middle school, and the pair was overwhelmed by all the big kids, totally unprepared even though their fifth grade teachers had warned them all the time over the course of the year.

Jinora put down her pencil, looking up from her homework. "Why?" she whispered, glancing up at the cranky librarian in case she got on her bad side.

Kai shrugged. "We're pretty good at running, and it'll make us look cool."

"Cool?" Jinora raised a brow.

"I mean, why not?"

Jinora pursed her lips. "Well, maybe…"

"Great! Try-outs are next Tuesday."

"I never said yes," she pointed out.

Kai groaned. "Well, at least I'll be there. Just so you know," he grinned.

"Okay then."

* * *

Jinora couldn't believe she was doing this.

She was standing at the track, Coach Tonraq calling the names of the kids trying out. She stood by Kai's side in the crowd of kids, her sneakers laced tightly, fiddling with the hem of her orange T-shirt. Her hair was tied up in a short tail with an elastic. Her hands shook, her stomach jittery for the try out. She wasn't quite sure why she was so nervous though; it wasn't like she wanted to try out after all. Maybe it'd hurt her honour if she didn't make the team-she usually thought she was pretty good at running.

Kai jogged in place, pumped, bouncing from one foot to the other. His green eyes glinted with excitement.

"Alright, kids. It looks like we've gotten quite a lot of applicants this year. Forty-nine, to be exact. I'll be cutting around half of you all, the best runners of the bunch. But no pressure," he added. "Before we start, how about one lap around the track for a warm up?" suggested the coach.

Jinora and Kai followed the sea of kids as they started off on the run, steps falling in rhythm-_1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and…_ Jinora's arms swung at a hypnotic beat, and she ran in the middle of the group-not too fast, not too slow. She could feel her ponytail swishing behind her neck.

Kai left Jinora's side, speeding ahead of her until he was the head of the pack, then returning to the rhythmic lull of the group. He snickered when he saw a few kids in the back begin to walk when they reached the curve. _They're certainly not making the team,_ he thought cockily.

They completed the lap, and Jinora's heart sped up some. The cool autumn air now felt good, rather than chilly.

They chugged water and Gatorade as they corralled around Coach Tonraq. He held a clipboard in his hands, his long tail tied back. "My daughter should be here soon," he said. "She's a college student at the local university. A star athlete." He beamed at the thought of his daughter. "Once she arrives, we'll begin the actual tryouts For now, start stretching. Ming, you lead," he nodded at one of the eighth graders, an experienced runner of Republic City Middle School. She nodded dutifully, then turned to the group.

They circled around, pulling their feet to their butts for a hamstring stretch. Jinora hopped over to Kai on one foot. She rested a hand on his shoulder for balance.

"Nervous?" he asked.

Jinora shrugged. "Kind of." She released his shoulder.

He offered an easy, laid-back smile. "Don't worry. We'll both make it. You have a super fast mile time, and I'm a good sprinter," he reassured.

Jinora managed a smile back before Tonraq called their attention. "My daughter's here!" he announced.

"Korra?" Jinora and Kai jogged over to a young woman, who was hopping out a car. Korra's dark hair was up in a high ponytail, and she wore a blue Republic City University cross country jersey, dark blue Nike shorts, and Nike track shoes. She swung a water bottle around in her hand, slamming the door shut with her other hand. She waved back at the driver, who pulled away from the curb.

The other runners approached her, and Jinora gave her a hug. Korra gave Kai a fistbump, then greeted the other runners. "Hey guys," she waved. "I'm Korra, Tonraq's daughter. I'll be helping around during this year's track season, and I'm real excited," she grinned.

The kids gave nonchalant "hi"s and "hey"s. Tonraq then began speaking, announcing the first few tests. Kai jogged forward to listen to his tests.

"I didn't know you were running with us," she whispered. "Was that Mako who drove you here?"

Korra nodded. "Came from lunch."

She giggled. "You sure you guys aren't dating?" Mako and Korra, classmates in the same criminology class, had been spending plenty of time together. Jinora had been teasing her babysitter for weeks about it, but Korra refused to call her and Mako an item.

Korra threw a light punch on Jinora's arm.

"...so, Korra will be timing you at the yellow line down there. You start here," Tonraq pointed by his feet. He handed Korra a timer, and Jinora took her place by Kai's side. Butterflies flew around her stomach. What if she didn't make the team?

As if Kai could read her mind, he whispered, "Don't worry. You'll do fine."

Jinora managed a shy smile as she prepared for the rest of the tryout. It was certainly going to be easier with Korra and Kai with her.

* * *

"How do you think you did?" Jinora asked as she and Kai made their way to the gym double doors, where the tryout for track were posted. It'd been three days after tryouts, and Coach Tonraq had made the final cuts.

Kai shrugged, a smug grin on his face. "Pretty good, if I say so myself. I was the best at the hundred-metre sprint," he admitted.

Jinora blew some air out of her mouth. "I hope I did alright."

"I bet you did fine. You're the second best in the four-hundred and fifth-best in the two-hundred metre. Plus, you have the second best mile time."

Jinora smiled warmly at his encouragement. "Thanks, Kai."

They pushed their way through the crowd of kids. Jinora squinted, her eyes flashing down the list. There it was: _Jinora A._

"I made it!" she exclaimed. She didn't think it'd happen, but there it was. Her name printed in black letters neatly on the sheet.

Kai backed out slowly away from the crowd, then walked hurriedly away, face red. Jinora paced after him, catching up to him as he reached his locker. His brows were furrowed, his jaw tight as he swung open the locker, throwing books in with a loud clang.

"Kai? Are you alright?"

He slammed the locker shut, though the noise wasn't as unbearable because of the chatter in the halls as kids got to classes. Kai groaned in frustration. "I didn't make it."

Jinora narrowed her eyes in confusion."Why? You said so yourself, you were one of the best runners."

Kai shrugged, slumping his shoulders and refusing to meet her eyes. "I don't know," he said bluntly. "I guess I'm not good enough."

"Look, I'll ask Coach Tonraq and Korra why you didn't make the team," she offered. "You clearly were the best. He's stupid to have cut you."

Kai shook his head. "No, don't."

"I insist." She rested a hand on his arm.

"Whatever." The bell rang. "I gotta get to class," Kai said, leaving Jinora by the gym to watch him go.

* * *

Jinora put her bag down by the bleachers, joining the runners at the track. She fell in sync with the other runners, and Korra caught up with her from behind. "Hey," she breathed.

Jinora acknowledged the co-coach with a wave of her hand, and the pair came around the curve of the track. "So," Jinora began. "Kai's not here."

Korra huffed, "Yeah."

"He did really well at tryouts," she remarked.

"Yeah."

Jinora kept running silently, afraid to ask Korra why Kai didn't make the team. Would that make her seem rude? Nosy?

The pair came to a stop after two laps, scooping up water bottles and taking long swigs. As if she could read her mind, Korra then said, "If there's something you want to tell me, spit it out."

"H-how did you know?" Jinora stammered, surprised as she capped the bottle.

Korra drew a hand and wiped some sweat off her forehead. "I know you well enough from babysitting," she teased with a grin. "Just tell me."

"Why didn't Kai make the track team?" Jinora suddenly spluttered,

Korra glanced away. "Not surprised you asked me that," she muttered. "But I'm not sure. Ask my dad. He made the cuts."

Jinora glanced at the large man behind the clipboard, marking attendance, his blue eyes flashing up every so often. "But, he's…"

Korra laughed. "Large? Scary-looking?" she offered, then slapped Jinora on the back. She winced in a bit of pain, but didn't complain. "Nah, my dad's really cool," Korra said. "He's super nice. Don't be afraid."

Jinora glanced up doubtfully at Korra.

"Or, I could ask for you," she offered.

Jinora nodded. "Y-yeah. That'd be great."

Korra then jogged over to her dad. "Hey, Dad!" she shouted.

"No, Korra!" Jinora yelled after her. "Not now…" she faltered, seeing that it was too late. Korra was already animatedly in discussion with her father. Silently, she mused that without Korra's help, she probably wouldn't have ever asked Tonraq why Kai wasn't getting on the team; she was much too shy.

Korra came back soon enough. "So?" Jinora said anticipatedly.

Korra swung her water bottle around with one hand. "Dad said he was one of the best runners. But his grades weren't good enough."

Jinora furrowed her brow. As far as she knew, Kai's grades were looking pretty okay. "What do you mean?"

"He had an F in two classes on his progress report, and plenty of D's What a shame."

Even though track practise had worn her out, she ran all the way to Kai's home, three blocks away from her own.

She pounded on Kai's front door, a large oak. Moments later, the door swung open, and the face of a smiling woman stood before her. "Hello Jinora. Looking for Kai?"

She nodded without greeting, huffing and out of breath from sprinting to Kai's house. Behind the woman, Kai came lumbering down the steps, relaxed in sweatpants and a grey T-shirt. "Hey, Jinora," he said. "Mom, let her in."

"I need to speak to you," Jinora said once she caught her breath.

Kai wrinkled his nose. "Did you just come from practise? You smell like a locker room."

Jinora rolled her eyes. "Come on, can we go to your room or something?" She tugged at his arm.

Kai shrugged. "Sure, but you're not sitting on my bed like that."

They ran up his steps, and Jinora dumped her things on his floor. "So, what's up-" Kai began, jumping onto his bed.

Jinora cut him off quickly. "You had two F's on your progress report?"

Kai tensed. "H-how'd you know?" he stammered.

"Nevermind that," she said quickly, unsure if her friend would be mad at her for nosing into his business. "But that's why you didn't get on the team," deduced Jinora.

Kai pursed his lips. "Uh, yeah," he said quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me? You said you had two C's and the rest B's."

He shrank in his bed. "I-I...It was embarrassing."

"How so? I could've tutored you!" exclaimed Jinora.

He wouldn't meet her intelligent grey eyes. "It's embarrassing because I'm failing school while my best friend could skip middle school if she felt like it."

"Kai," Jinora sighed. "Don't be like that. I can tutor you."

"Well, it's a bit late," he snapped. "I can't get on the track team anymore."

"Yeah you can," insisted Jinora. "We can pull strings. We can talk to Korra."

"That's embarrassing," he repeated.

"What's with you and a little embarrassment? Would you rather not be on the track team? I know how much this means to you."

Kai shrugged, considering that. "True enough. I guess so."

* * *

Kai met Jinora at her locker the next morning as she dumped her books in the locker, a wide smile on his face.

She shut her locker, hugging her books close to her. "Why the grin?"

Kai was practically bouncing with energy. "I spoke to Korra about getting on the track team."

"And?" Jinora asked as they made their way to homeroom through the crowded halls.

"She said technically being assistant coach she could let me on the team."

Jinora grinned, high-fiving her friend. "Yay!"

"But," he began.

"But?"

"Under the premise that I'd get straight A's at the end of the semester," he grumbled. "I don't think that's possible."

Jinora bumped him on the shoulder. "No stress," she assured. "I'll tutor you."

"I was afraid you'd say that," he muttered

"If you wanna be on the team, you're gonna need my tutoring. You yourself know that."

He sighed. "I guess so," he said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

* * *

"Kai, I've told you twenty times, Lord Zuko came to power in the year 100," Jinora sighed.

The pair had been studying for hours on end for the upcoming history final. Jinora had come over that evening, backpack heavy with textbooks. She'd let herself in, and marched straight up to Kai's room after brief greeting with his parents. It was nearly ten, which meant Jinora had to go home soon or her father, Tenzin, would flip out.

Unfortunately, their study session seemed nowhere near a close. She'd tried most of her tactics: teaching-it-yourself, podcasts, mock tests. None seemed to work. They were now using her flashcards, but Kai's restlessness and half-heartedness seemed to get the pair nowhere close to their goal.

Kai sighed, defeatedly taking another fire gummy from the bag he'd been eating from, the third one of the hour. "I don't think I can pass the test, Jinora. I don't think I'll be on the track and field team."

Jinora nudged him. "Hey, don't give up," she said, putting down the flash cards. Her eyes rested on the bag of fire gummies, and took a handful from his bag. She tossed one in her mouth, and _mmmm_. The spicy flavour danced around her tongue.

Her eyes then widened. "I've got an idea!" she exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"To help you study. I saw this online. You've been moping around the past few hours, right? No motivation to study, besides track and field. And that's clearly not enough motivation. It's also been getting us nowhere near done studying."

Kai blushed. "Right," he admitted. Jinora suddenly snatched the bag of fire gummies. "Hey!" he said. "Give 'em back!" He grabbed for the bag, but Jinora hopped out her seat, holding them above her head so that Kai couldn't reach them.

"Every time you get a flash card right, you get a gummy. The reward factor will push you to try harder," Jinora theorized.

Kai glanced at the clock. "But it's so late," he complained.

"You just wanna get out of studying," she accused. "Come on." She sat back down, taking the flashcards in her hands. "So, again, when did Lord Zuko come to power?"

Kai shrugged. "I dunno."

"_Kai_."

He glanced down at the floor, then back up at Jinora. "Like, the year 100."

"Great!" Jinora grinned, and Kai felt a surge of pride. He'd finally gotten a question right. "I did drill it in your head twenty times," she teased. She pulled out a fire gummy, holding it up to him. "Try catching it."

Kai rolled his office chair back a few metres, and Jinora tossed it high in the air in an arc. He leaned forward, and it landed square in his mouth. He chewed it and swallowed, grinning.

"Come on, let's keep studying," she encouraged, returning to the desk.

* * *

"JinoraJinoraJinoraJinoraJinoraJinora-"

Jinora nearly choked on her noodles when Kai approached the sixth grader at the courtyard from behind excitedly, shouting her name and waving a piece of paper around wildly.

"What?" she said angrily, putting down her chopsticks. She apologised quickly when she saw Kai's hurt expression. "Well, what?"

He held up the paper. On it, in bright red marker, was a large 85 and "Good job" written across it. "I got a B!"

Jinora held the paper, the history exam that they'd studied for hours for the previous week. "Congrats!" she exclaimed, high-fiving her friend.

"Nothing's stopping me from being on the track team now," he grinned. "Thanks for helping me study," he said as he took a seat next to Jinora.

She shrugged. "It was no problem."

"You know," he began, "you and me, we make a great team. Together, we're unstoppable."


	4. At Fourteen

**A/N: I'll try to post every Saturday night, I think. Not the final schedule for this fic though.**

* * *

"I think she likes you."

Kai shook his head, shocked. "She does not!"

Jinora snickered. "Well, you obviously like her," she countered. "You've been staring at her for like, the past twenty minutes. And you talked about her non stop this morning."

Kai flushed, poking at the dumplings in his canteen with his fork.

"So you won't say it's not true? You do like her?" Jinora teased, bumping him on the shoulder.

"And I won't say if it's true."

"It is true!" Jinora teased. "You like her, you like her!" she sang victoriously.

"Stop, you're making a scene," Kai hissed.

Jinora rolled her eyes. "Ask her out, stupid. To the Winter Festival Dance!" she suggested loudly.

Kai shook his head. He looked up from his noodles and caught sight of _her_ again. Her name was Li Mei, one of the prettiest girls in the grade in his opinion, and one of the slower track members. But she was _so_ nice, and he couldn't get him out of her head since last week at track practise.

Jinora had been absent from practise, since her dad had some stuff for her or whatever. They were doing 50-metre sprints, and it was Kai's turn. He stood at the starting line, taking deep breaths to prepare himself. Even at practise, he tried his hardest. He hadn't been so passionate about something since he gave up comic books.

Coach Tonraq blew the whistle, and he was about to go, when he heard somebody call, "Watch out!"

Kai stumbled over his shoelaces, faceplanting into the pavement. "Oomph!"

A couple of the kids laughed, and he sat up. He felt a stab of pain in his had scraped his knee, and dust and dirt covered his legs.

"Are you alright?" asked Tonraq, approaching the fallen runner.

Kai groaned, staggering up. "Yeah."

"Korra, go get him some antiseptic and a band-aid," he told his daughter, who obeyed. Korra helped Kai up, and they walked off the track slowly, Kai wincing every so often due to his injuries. He'd taken the rest of practise off, watching the runners and completing his homework..

Later, when he was waiting for his mom to pick him up, a girl took a seat next to him. Her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her green eyes focused on the ground. Kai recognised her as Li Mei, a girl he sometimes worked with in group projects in science and language arts, and one of the slower freshmen who'd just joined this year.

"Hey," she greeted.

Kai gave a shy wave, not the most sociable around girls.

"Is your knee okay?"

Kai nodded. "It stings, though," he admitted.

She looked down at it. "Sorry you fell."

"Yeah, well, I'm not graceful." They laughed.

"Do you like track?" asked Kai.

Li Mei shrugged. "It's alright. Korra's pretty fun. You're really good at running," she said.

Kai blushed. "Uh, thanks." This was the longest conversation he'd ever had with a girl, besides his mother, Korra, Jinora, or her siblings.

Li Mei rose as a Satomobile pulled up. "Hey, I gotta go. Nice speaking to you," she said, then left, Kai staring after her.

"Kai," Jinora suddenly said.

Kai snapped out of his daydream. "Wh-what?"

"Kai, Li Mei's trying to talk to you," Jinora said, giggling. Li Mei stood there by the table, holding her books and grinning down at Kai. Jinora rose, packing up her lunch. "I'll give you two some space."

Kai cleared his throat. "Hey, Li Mei," he greeted.

"Kai," she smiled. "Just came by to say hi."

Kai glanced over at Jinora, who was standing far away on the courtyard, watching closely. She nodded encouragingly.

"Uh, d-do you wanna hang out sometime? Just you and me?" he stammered.

Li Mei turned red. "Yeah, sure!" she nodded excitedly. "I'll text you or something."

"O-okay," grinned Kai. When Li Mei left, Kai flashed a thumbs up at Jinora, who smiled at him in congratulations.

* * *

"How's your ice cream?"

Li Mei shrugged. "It's alright," she said softly. "You?"

Kai grinned. "It's great."

Li Mei smiled. "You have some ice cream on your lip."

"Oh." He licked his lip. "Better?"

She giggled. "You made it worse." She reached out with a napkin to dab away the ice cream on his face. "Now it's better."

It was the pair's fourth date, and they were strolling down the street with ice cream cones in their hands after watching a movie even though it was the dead of winter. Li Mei was Kai's first actual girlfriend, and for the past two weeks there was a bubbly feeling in his stomach that made him very, very happy.

Li Mei pulled out her cell, checking the time. "Uh oh. I gotta go, or my mom's gonna get pretty mad."

"Do you want me to walk me home?" he offered.

"Nah, I'll take the bus," she said. "It should be at that stop soon, anyway." She pointed at a bus stop, where a few people were crowding around. Kai nodded. "You should go home too," Li Mei said.

"I'll walk home. I don't live far."

She smiled. "I'll call you later."

"Wait," Kai said. He'd been planning to ask her this the entire date, but the right words never seemed to form. But this was his last chance to ask her the question in his mind. "D-do you wanna go to the WInter Festival Dance with me? This Friday night?" he asked, words stumbling out his mouth.

Li Mei smiled. "That'd be really fun, Kai. I'd love to."

Kai grinned. "Great!"

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." She pressed a kiss against his cheek. "Bye."

"Bye!" he called, butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. He'd never felt like he was soaring like this before.

Halfway on the way home, he finished his ice cream cone and pulled out his cell phone.

_17 missed calls_.

He read through the missed calls, all from Jinora. He shrugged. She probably wouldn't mind, and would probably understand him being on a date with Li Mei.

Jinora was his best friend, after all.

* * *

"You've reached Kai's cell. If I didn't pick up I'm probably really, really busy. Catch me later," said the pre-recorded message. Jinora groaned in frustration, hanging up the phone.

Since Kai had gotten himself a girlfriend, Jinora saw almost none of him over the past two weeks. Of course, Kai wasn't her only friend at school. She still had Skoochy and some of the other girls, but nobody as close to her as Kai.

She slumped on the sofa, where nearby Mako and Korra were sitting closely together. Of course, she was way too old for a babysitter, but Korra was still a close friend of their family's, welcome anytime.

"What's wrong?" Korra asked. She was sprawled on a couch, head resting on Mako's lap.

"Kai's busy with his new girlfriend. _Again_."

Korra shrugged. "He adores her."

"Yeah, but isn't it a problem that we haven't seen each other in, like, two weeks?" Jinora's voice rose in desperation. "We're supposed to be _best friends_, after all."

"When you get a girlfriend, you're not supposed to see other girls," Mako shrugged.

"Something you're clearly not good at when you were dating Asami," teased Korra. Mako flicked her forehead irritatedly, and she only laughed.

Jinora sighed, returning to the subject. "I-I just wish that he would stop ignoring me altogether."

"Then talk to him," Korra said. "Simple as that."

"But-"

"No buts. Just talk it out. He's not an idiot."

"That's what you think," Jinora muttered under her breath. She didn't understand why he kept ignoring her after she kept trying to reach out to him.

He was her best friend, after all.

* * *

"See ya later," Kai said, and Li Mei pecked a kiss on his cheek. She spun around and walked away, leaving Kai with a fluttery feeling in his stomach. He sighed, staring after her.

"Eugh," muttered Jinora in disgust, standing by her locker.

Kai turned angrily at his friend. "What?" he challenged.

"Nothing. Just, you two were being really gross and mushy," Jinora said nonchalantly as she pulled out her thick science textbook from her locker.

"I don't believe you."

Jinora closed her locker, then straightened her glasses.

"If you have a problem with _my girlfriend_, just say so."

Jinora shrugged. "It's nothing, really."

"_Jinora_."

She muttered a curse under her breath. "I'm going to class."

"I'm taking her to the Winter Festival Dance, tomorrow night," he suddenly spat out.

She blinked, surprised. "Oh." Jinora looked at the ground then back up at him. "But we made plans that night." She fought to keep her voice steady.

"We can postpone those plans, right?" Kai shrugged.

"That's what you've said every time, with every plan we've made, ever since you started dating Li Mei!" Jinora yelled suddenly. Even she was surprised by the volume of her voice, but it got drowned out by the hubhub in the hallways.

"It was your idea to take me to the Winter Festival Dance," he defended. "And anyway, what's so wrong with hanging out with my girlfriend?" Kai demanded.

Jinora narrowed her eyes. "Nothing's wrong with hanging out with Li Mei. Something's wrong with ditching me to see her every moment of the day."

"Well, I'm not supposed to see other girls when I'm dating somebody," defended Kai.

"Isn't being your best friend an exception?" Jinora asked, face red. She then turned, leaving Kai speechless by the lockers.

* * *

Kai wasn't very happy.

There was loud music around him, and a pretty girl holding his hand, and he had a bottle of his favourite soda in his hand, but he really wasn't feeling that great.

"Kai, are you alright?" Li Mei asked softly. They had taken a break from the dance floor for some soda, and spoke quietly by the walls of the stuffy gym. A couple to their right was getting handsy, kissing each other everywhere. Kai tried not to look at them.

Kai shrugged. "I'm alright." The phone in his pocket had stayed silent, and it seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. No chirp, no vibration of any text messages, which was unusual. Jinora always texted him. He tried to ignore the hollow feeling in his stomach.

"Kai," Li Mei chided, staring at him with intense green eyes. "You've been moping around the whole dance."

"No I haven't!" protested Kai. Li Mei raised a brow, and Kai blushed. "I guess you're right," he admitted.

"Is it Jinora?"

Kai grinned for the first time since the fight with Jinora. "You know me too well, Li."

She shrugged. "It comes with spending almost every second of my day with you." They shared a brief smile. "Look, I've been meaning to say this for a while. I think we shouldn't see each other so much."

"Oh, no," Kai groaned. "You're breaking up with me. I knew it. I did something wrong."

Li Mei took his hand. "I'm gonna play the 'It's not you, it's me' card. I really like you. I just can't hurt your relationship with Jinora."

"Jinora and I are just friends," he objected. "She doesn't have to get in the way of us."

"But I'm getting in the way of you and her. And I've also been missing my own girlfriends," she admitted. "It's just-it's just not working."

"Li Mei-"

"I still really like you, Kai. But we're only in high school. We only met this year. We'll get over it," she said, managing a sad smile. "But you and Jinora, you guys are best friends. You can't get over that so easily." She pecked his cheek with a final kiss. The pair had never actually kissed each other, on the lips.

Li Mei backed away from Kai. "I think-" she pointed backwards at the dance floor. "I'm gonna look for my friends."

Kai blinked. "Okay."

"You should go after her. Stop sulking," she smiled, then left Kai alone with his drink to keep him company in the crowded, sweaty gym.

* * *

"Jinora, could you get the door?" called Pema from the kitchen. Somebody was knocking loudly and repeatedly, and Pema's hands were full with little Rohan.

Jinora groaned as he sat up on the couch. She hated to be so rudely interrupted from her Saturday evening television. It was the only time in the week where she could peacefully watch television, since her siblings were all out with Tenzin, except Rohan, who was too small. She wondered who would be at their door at eight on a Saturday night. Maybe it was Councilman Tarrlok who wanted to speak to her father, or Korra coming by to chill. Their house was like Korra's second home, Jinora's family Korra's second family.

Jinora opened up the door, cold air from outside rushing over her, goose pimples rising on her skin. "Who-Kai?"

There he was, standing at their doorstep, shivering in the cold. Pema came from the kitchen to see the guest. "Kai! It's nice to see you. Come on in, it's cold outside," she said, gesturing at him to enter.

Kai smiled. "Thanks, Pema."

"Do you want something to eat, drink? We have leftover egg tarts, and-"

"_Mom_," Jinora groaned. "We'll be alright."

Pema smiled. "Okay. Jinora, be polite to your guest."

"Mom, Kai's been over almost as much as Korra!"

She laughed. "Alright. If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen with Rohan." She then trotted away.

Kai nodded. "Thanks again," he called.

Jinora shut the door, then rested her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, no edge to her voice.

"I'm here to see you, silly," he replied, trying a smile.

"You're supposed to be at the dance. Did you stand up Li Mei?"

Kai pursed his lips. "We...we kinda broke up."

"Oh," Jinora said. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He shrugged. He then paused for a moment, then said, "She told me to stop sulking at the dance. I came back for you right after we broke up."

Jinora felt colour run to her cheeks. "Oh," she said stupidly.

"Yeah. I mean, it's just a short-lived high school relationship." He shrugged again. He shrugged a lot when he was distraught.

"Yeah." Jinora cleared her throat, then said, "I'm sorry I got so mad."

He stuck his hands in his pockets and stared down at the floor. "I think I should be apologising. I'm sorry I kept ignoring you for Li Mei. It's just...I was being an idiot for ignoring you."

Jinora grinned. "It's okay."

"You're my best friend. You'll always be an exception when it comes to girls," Kai said. "Are we good?"

They met each other's eyes for a moment. Silence loomed over them for a moment like a heavy stormcloud. _I missed you_ seemed to be communicated unspokenly.

"Yeah." She pursed her lips. "I think we'll be okay."


	5. At Seventeen

**A/N:** Sorry for this really, really long wait! I have a bunch of excuses, lots of other projects and whatever. I hope you guys forgive me for my being really, really late. I'm not good with deadlines, I dunno.

This is probably my longest chapter, and it took me long enough, I know. I hope you guys enjoy it! :)

All reviews are welcome, and favourites/follows are really appreciated.

* * *

For the past four days, Jinora sat at the curb waiting for the mailman.

Right after school, at 3:47 sharp, the mailman would never fail to arrive, and deliver a load of letters in her arms. And she'd search, search, through her father's councilman letters and bills and advertisements, for one envelope, a vanilla packet full of information and _Congratulations for your acceptance in Republic City University!_ in large letters.

Of course, it was college week: all the universities that all the students had applied to were sending out results, and Jinora anxiously waited for her own. So that afternoon, the fifth straight day in a row, she sat herself down on the community bench in her neighbourhood, bouncing a leg as she waited not-so-patiently for that letter. Every few moments, she'd open her phone to check the time: _3:31, 3:33, 3:34._

When she checked her phone for the sixth time (_3:37)_, Jinora saw her new friend and classmate, Opal, stroll down the street. Jinora waved at her, and she came jogging up to Jinora. She was in Jinora's university math class, and was a student herself at Republic City University and pursuing a relationship with Bolin, another friend of Jinora's and Mako's little brother. Opal's bubbly personality and friendly disposition had made her popular in the city, and the fact that she was the police chief's niece didn't hurt. Her short bob framed her round face and glittering green eyes shone like polished stones, which were light and kind when she saw Jinora.

Opal took a seat next to the high school senior, who checked her watch once again (_3:40)_. "Waiting for the mailman again?" When Jinora nodded, she teased lightheartedly, "What happened to your social life?"

Opal's words did strike dangerously closely to the truth: Jinora really had no more social life. Juggling her 3.9 GPA, 11 APs, position as president of Science Olympiad, and being star debater on the Debate Team, all had really had a toll on Jinora. She lost almost all contact with every single one of her friends. It'd been two years since she'd been invited to any high school party. Only occasionally she'd text Kai, who'd just tease her more about her lack of friends. Even Ikki had more friends than her, and she liked to rub that in Jinora's face a lot. Jinora didn't sacrifice all that for nothing.

Jinora only shrugged at Opal. "I'm just, you know, nervous." She drummed her fingers on her thigh, her body pulsing with nervous energy. "I really wanna get in, and…"

"I'm certain you'll get in, Jinora," Opal reassured her. "You're the smartest kid I know."

Jinora didn't want to tell Opal that her faith in her didn't lift her spirits at all, so instead, she only muttered a "Thanks."

Opal then began to drone on about her date with Bolin the previous evening, and Jinora tuned her out, shaking anxiously. What would she do if she didn't get in? RCU was the second college she'd applied to, and she couldn't afford her other choice, Omashu Institute of Mathematics and Science. If she paid an arm and a leg to go there, she still wouldn't have enough money to pay for the tuition. If Jinora didn't get admitted to Republic City University-no, she definitely didn't want to think about _that_.

As she waddled herself up in her thoughts, Opal tapped Jinora on the shoulder. "Jinora. Jinora, snap out of it."

Jinora blinked up at Opal with round grey eyes. "Yeah, what?"

"The mailman is here."

She looked up and saw, yes, the middle aged man down the street in a blue uniform and cap carrying a satchel full of letters. On his breast pocket was the design of the United Republic Mail Service logo, a red messenger hawk. He was stuffing a huge wad of letters into a rusty mailbox. She checked her phone-_3:46._ She stared at the seconds tick by, and

_3:47_

Jinora looked up. The mailman, Gommu, stood before her, right on time. "Good to see you again, Miss Jinora, Miss Opal," he grinned, lifting his cap politely. Jinora managed a shy smile, and he began rummaging through his bag for letters.

"Punctual, as usual," said Opal, who took Jinora's shaking hand in her own and began cradling it.

"That's what I'm known for," Gommu promised, pulling out a clump of letters. "Here are your letters, Miss Jinora. I think you'll find good things in there," he said with a wink.

Jinora took the envelopes with a trembling hand. "Have a good day, you two pretty missus," he nodded, then went on his way.

Opal squeezed Jinora's hand. "'Good things in there.'," she quoted the mailman. "That sounds great!"

Jinora nodded, throat dry. She'd felt like this for the past four days when Gommu came around: shaking, nervous, and ready to have a breakdown.

"You should get home now," Opal told her as Jinora began shuffling through the papers until she found a cream envelope. _Republic City University_ was in the address. Her heart began racing. Could this be it? She couldn't, oh spirits.

She turned to Opal. "Open this for me," she rasped.

Opal looked at the envelope, and excitement lit up her eyes as she took the packet into her lap. "I think this is it, Jinora."

With a sharp fingernail, she slit the side of the envelope. "Here we go," she smiled, then slid out a packet of papers.

Jinora turned away. "I can't," she breathed.

Opal pursed her lips, eyes glittering with excitement. "Dear Jinora…" she muttered. Jinora held her breath. Opal fell silent, then-

"Congratulations for your acceptance in Republic City University!" she squealed.

Jinora jumped up off the park bench. "I'm in?"

Opal nodded, grinning. She rose as well. "Yeah, you're in!" she exclaimed. They hugged, at Jinora could feel her stomach jittering-_She was going to the school of her dreams._

* * *

After leaving Opal be, she sprinted home and burst through the front door with a loud _crash_.

"Jinora!" scolded her mother, holding the hand of her smallest brother, who squeezed a teddy bear tight to his chest. They were emerging out of the kitchen. "Be less aggressive with the door-"

"Mom, I got in Republic City University!" Jinora spluttered, waving around the packet of papers in her hand, the other hand bundled with letters from the mailman.

"Jinora got in college?" Ikki's curious voice carried down the hall, followed by rapid footsteps. Ikki and Meelo raced to the front door, where Jinora stood, a wide grin on her face and papers in her hand.

"Republic City University?" their father's gruff voice rumbled as he followed his children through the hall.

Jinora nodded. She felt like an excited puppy, barely able to hold her excitement as she bounced around.. "Yeah, Dad!"

Tenzin scooped up her daughter in wide arms. "That's fantastic!" he exclaimed, squeezing her tight. Jinora's mother and siblings joined soon after, until she was squished between bodies with squealing loud in her ears. As annoying as her family was, she couldn't deny how much she love love loved them. She gasped a sigh of relief when they released her; she felt like she was suffocating, though it didn't stifle her glee.

Jinora made her way into the living room as her family followed. "Here, Dad." She handed Tenzin the packet from Republic City University, setting the letters down by on the coffee table. "Read it over. It's got all the important information."

Tenzin took it in his hands, skimming over the text while their family peered over his shoulder with curious grey gazes. Jinora backed away from her family; her phone felt heavy in her pocket, and she knew she had something extremely important to do. "I'm gonna make a phone call," she announced to unlistening ears, then retreated to her bedroom.

Upstairs, she unlocked her phone and tapped the first contact her her speed dial: Kai. She slumped on her bed, lifting her legs and resting her feet on the wall. After a single ring, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Kai, I'm in!" shouted Jinora excitedly. "Republic City University!"

"You're in? Congrats!" praised Kai. "That's great!"

"I know!"

"But you're not going, right?" Kai said.

Jinora fell into silence, confused. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"I mean, "It was just a test college, see if you get in. You're going to Omashu. Right?"

Jinora slid her feet around the wall, hesitating. Something inside her felt like it was crumbling, a wave of guilt crashing onto her. Was that what Kai thought? She took a deep breath before beginning after long pause, "Omashu was the test college."

"Wait, what?"

"It's too expensive for me," she explained quietly. "Even with the financial aid they're offering, I'd have debt that'll go three generations down. I can't go, as great of a school it is."

Kai made a strange squeaking noise over the phone, as if he'd been punched. "But…"

"But what?"

"You're supposed to go to Omashu. And I'm supposed to go to Omashu College. They gave me a scholarship and everything. We're supposed to stick together," Kai said, his voice cracking.

Jinora sighed. "Kai, we were freshmen when I made that promise, and I was really, _really_ naive," she argued. "Plus, Republic City University is a better fit. I wanna major religious studies. Republic City has a better program than Omashu."

"You really wanna stay at home?" Kai scoffed. "Home's boring."

Jinora snorted. "Republic City is the third-biggest city on earth. It's pretty not-boring." She rolled her eyes-was Kai really gonna be such a jerk, and now? "And Omashu's just a big city built on glorified rock," she retorted. "I'll do great in Republic City."

Kai was silent for a moment. Then: "I'm sorry. I just-I thought we'd be side by side forever, you know? We're losing that friendship."

"No we're not," she argued.

Kai continued regardlessly. "We're gonna become different people. I don't wanna become a different person-a person without you."

Jinora was hit by the same realisation: she'd be hundreds of miles away from Kai, unable to see him everyday face to face, unable to contact him at the touch of a button. Soon he'd get a new life, and she would too. They'd have new friends, new jobs, new lovers. They'd be so different the next time they saw one another. But-her voice cracked as she mustered all the courage in her and said, "We'll always be best friends, Kai. We could never be people without each other."

Kai sighed over the phone, a fuzzy tone. "Yeah. You're right. We'll-we'll be fine at college."

He didn't sound convinced, but Jinora only agreed,"Yeah." She squeezed her eyes shut, because no she could not afford to cry now. Rather, she just kept talking. "We could text, and Skype, and call everyday."

"Yeah. We'll be fine," he reassured the two.

* * *

Autumn came around before Jinora knew it.

In the blink of an eye, April had come and gone, and it was prom. She'd brought a date, Kai had brought his own, they had a blast. Then summer rolled around: a three month block of volunteering and vacationing and preparing for what was today. Then autumn was there, and now Republic City University's classes were going to commence in a week. She was preparing herself-emotionally and mentally-for university. Jinora's siblings celebrated her leaving, though she caught Ikki crying in her room while Jinora was packing. Jinora had left the scene quietly and somberly with a sad comprehension: a chapter of her life was closing.

Jinora powdered on makeup, threw on a yellow dress, then stared into grey eyes in the mirror and breathed: she'd make it through today. She swore to herself that no sobbing would ensue, no tears would drip on her cheeks. She glanced at the small book wrapped with a bow rested on her desk, and snatched it up with a hand, tucking it away in her bag. With shaky gait, she left her room and clambered down the stairs.

"I'm taking the car," she called to her parents as she grabbed the keys to their old minivan from the kitchen counter. They jingled a metallic tune as she strung the keychain on her finger. "I'm gonna see Kai off at the train station." He was going to Omashu, and it'd be the last day they saw one another before college.

Wow. That thought was like a slap in the face.

Pema came marching down the hall, an apron draped over her clothes. Her arms were spread open, an invitation for a hug, which Jinora accepted. "We'll miss Kai so much. Stay strong, Jinora." She squeezed her daughter tightly, tracing circles on her back with an arm.

Jinora swallowed a sob as her mother released her from the hug. "Bye Jinora!" Rohan chirped, running after his mother.

Jinora leaned down to ruffle her brother's hair. He was now an easily excitable ball of energy at six years old. "I'll be back at lunch," she promised her mother, then left with rapid footsteps before her mother could see her break her promise to herself and wipe away a droplet of water on her cheek.

* * *

Kai was _always_ late.

He was late for everything, every time. Late to school, late to class, late to track practise, late home, late to parties. Even when he tried to be early, _something_ would happen, like his clothes catching on fire (which happened so often he stopped trusting himself with matches), or a flat tire, or a long line at the men's room and a really full bladder. He was never, ever early.

So when Kai arrived at the train platform with two suitcases, he was hit with a surprise: the train wouldn't leave for another ten minutes. And another surprise, as he looked around the crowded station: Jinora hadn't arrived yet. And Jinora, on the other hand, was _always_ early.

He sat on a bench for a couple minutes, figuring, _hey what's the rush?_ The train wasn't going yet, and he could spare time for Jinora. With his phone off to save battery on the six-hour trip and all two of his books tucked away under piles of clothes, he could entertain himself by watching people pace by and wait for her. His mother had said her good-bye at the parking lot, red-faced and sniffling as she held onto him tight and made him promise not to drink until he was twenty-one or do drugs or have unprotected sex, blah blah blah. He'd shed a tear or two there. He'd given his final farewells to his friends at an end-of-summer get-together three weeks ago, classmates whom he'd only been subconsciously aware they walked the same halls he did giving him tearful hugs and fist-bumps and high-fives.

But he'd save Jinora for last, his best friend for twelve years, the classmate who'd helped him study, the teammate who always rallied for him, the girl who never failed to make him smile. She was definitely something special, and he wanted exchange his final words in Republic City with her. Kai braced himself for any oncoming sobs that were bound to come.

He caught her yellow sundress like a ray of sunshine among a sea of people, her grey eyes searching for him through faces. He rose, waving at her and grinning. "Jinora! Over here!"

Jinora glanced up, catching his green gaze. She shoved through the hustle and bustle, making her way to him. She looked up at him, three inches below. "Hey." She smiled bravely, patting his arms. "Look at you! On your way to college." She pursed her lips for a moment. "I'm so proud of you. You've accomplished so much."

"You sound like my mom," grumbled Kai, shaking Jinora's hands off his biceps.

She reddened, as she did so easily. "Sorry." She curled a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. "s'just that, you know, you're leaving." Her voice gave a crack, one of those rom-com sentimental "I'm leaving you and I dunno what to do without you" voice cracks.

Kai hated rom-coms, and he hated voice cracks. "Hey, don't be sad," he comforted.

Jinora looked up, her grey eyes flickering like threatening stormclouds looming over, ready to pour out all its rage and sorrow. "How? How can I not be sad when you're actually leaving in like, five minutes? Tell me how I can't be sad." Small pearly tears welled up in her eyes, and she gave a defeated sigh. "Crap, I'm crying now. I swore not to do that."

Kai chewed on his lip; seeing her cry, he knew he'd start misting up soon, and then they'd look like a couple of dorks wailing on the train platform. "I can handle myself in Omashu, and you'll do wonderful in college. Those professors in RCU will be so impressed with such a stellar student in their classroom."

Jinora managed a wry smile. "Stellar. That's probably the highest lexile word you know," she teased.

He shrugged. "You taught it to me, best tutor in the world."

Jinora's eyes brightened for a short moment. "Before I forget," she began as she reached for her bag with trembling hands. "I got you a gift," she said nervously, her words quickly leaping out of her mouth and mashing together so it sounded like, _eyegotyagif_. She produced a thick book from her hand.

"_The Tale of Omashu and other Earth Kingdom Fables_," read Kai as he took the book into his hands. "That's really cool. Thanks."

"It's a good book. I know you don't like reading, and it's kind of big, but I like it a lot-"

"I'll read it on the train," Kai said, rubbing a hand over the smooth cover. "Promise. And I'll think of you."

And then her hands went immediately to her eyes, rubbing them ferociously. "Crap, crap, crap," she muttered, turning slightly so that he couldn't see her entire face.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry, no no no," he stammered. "Oh no, please, don't cry. You're gonna make me cry, and-" Seeing her like this, so small, he felt his mind break. He blinked twice, small droplets forming, his twinkling eyes like dew wettened on a blade of grass. "Crap. I'm crying too."

In that moment, they were wailing dorks on the train platform, unable to recompose themselves. He gathered her up in wide arms, holding onto her tight. "I don't wanna leave," he whispered into her hair, his grip rumpling her dress. "I can't leave Republic City."

Jinora shook with a sob. "I don't want you to go," she murmured between sniffles.

They stood there, just two friends grasped in a tight embrace. And in a passing moment, Jinora wished really hard, really really hard, that he wouldn't go. If she wished really really hard, it'd come true.

But the moment was fleeting, and both Jinora and Kai knew that you couldn't just fight against the future like that. It rolled over you like a sweeping gust. Soon the woman over the intercom announced, "Train 47 headed to Omashu now departing in five minutes. All passengers please board now."

Kai released Jinora from his hug after one last squeeze, then wiped away red eyes with a sleeve. He took up his luggage wordlessly, then backed away. A sad smile was painted on his face. "I'll seeya later," he shrugged casually, like maybe they'd see one another the next day in the halls of their high school. How he wished that. He felt something in him crumple up and snap, a final sad realisation: he was leaving Republic City for good.

She managed a shy wave but no words. Her grey eyes were like a hurricane, full of words that she can't say, that she won't say. He turned his back on the platform, boarding the train with his bags, the book tucked under his arm. It was time to start a new chapter of his life.

And when he looked back, she was gone.


End file.
